


Messy

by AccidentalAvenger



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 10:17:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8245523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AccidentalAvenger/pseuds/AccidentalAvenger
Summary: Juno Steel was messy and complicated in a way that took Nureyev’s breath away and drew him in. Everything about the mission in Hyperion City had been messy. Juno Steel unashamedly left a trail of righteous destruction in his wake and Nureyev found it intoxicating.Nureyev's reflection on Juno Steel and the Case of the Murderous Mask





	

Nureyev had to admit to himself that the mission in Hyperion City had been a mess.

He didn't like leaving mess – in fact, he was usually the cleanest criminal he knew of. Take what you want and leave only footsteps were words he lived by. He could be in and out of a city in less than a day, expensive artefact under his arm and only a lingering smell of cologne to indicate that he was ever there in the first place. Nureyev’s business was not leaving a trace; he got what he needed and no one had to get hurt. Clean and simple. 

That wasn't how it had been in Hyperion City, though. 

It should have only been a matter of hours: break into the Kanagawa’s, get the Death Mask of Grimpotuthus and get out. But of course, Croesus had wandered in at the worst possible moment. Nureyev had known that it would be a tricky job, with the Kanagawa's being who they were, so it wasn't a complete disaster. Mistakes happen and Nureyev always had a hiding place, an escape route, and a backup plan. 

It had all gone properly downhill when Cassandra Kanagawa had stormed into the room. Nureyev hadn't known what the argument had been about, their voices were muffled from where he crouched. But he'd seen the girl push her father and he'd flinched as the man crashed through the glass. The Mask had been vicious, to say the least. Nureyev had seen his fair share of violence but the sight of what that ancient Mask did to the Croesus’ head made bile rise in his throat. No one deserved that. 

Nureyev had seen the girl cover her mouth in horror. He'd felt pity for her, especially as she glanced around for any cameras. Growing up in a house like the Kanagawa's was sure to screw anyone up. But she was clever, tracing a symbol on the shattered glass and leaving the scene quickly. It was only then that it sunk in that he wasn't getting the Mask anytime soon. But Nureyev was resourceful and he always had a backup plan. It would be fine. 

That was when the real mess had truly begun. 

The thing was, crime wasn't always clean and Nureyev had learnt that from experience. He'd learnt how to clear up his messes and leave no tangible trace. A dead body and a young woman unjustly sent to prison left him with a bitter, guilty taste in his mouth, to be sure. But Nureyev had seen much worse done to those a lot more innocent. Things go wrong and sometimes people get damaged in the process. Nureyev had survived worse. 

But Juno Steel was another problem altogether. Juno Steel was messy and complicated in a way that took Nureyev’s breath away and made his heart beat embarrassingly quickly. The detective’s wry smile, dry humour, and sharp mind had drawn him in. Everything about the mission had been messy after that – from the terrible plans which ended with blood, tears and the information they needed to the excessive flirting that Nureyev allowed himself to indulge in. Juno Steel unashamedly left a trail of righteous destruction in his wake and it was intoxicating. 

He was sharp edges where Nureyev was smooth. He pessimistic and sometimes downright rude in a painfully honest way while Nureyev practically oozed charm. Juno was scattered and reckless while Nureyev was neat and cautious. They were complete opposites and somehow made the perfect pair. 

The whole case had been a mess. Baiting an unstable young woman into revealing a weapon, going up against the Triad and getting stabbed in the leg just for some information and then confronting one of the biggest crime families in the Galaxy about their morals. It was all insane and Nureyev would have been horrified if he hadn't had found it so exhilarating. He was halfway to falling in love with Juno Steel, he realised as he lounged in the detective’s office later that evening and the way Juno asked him to stay almost made Peter Nureyev want to fall the rest of the way. 

But he'd had a job to do and although it had been complicated and confusing, he still had one last step. So he let himself kiss Juno even as he stole the key from the man’s pocket. He'd pushed away any messy feelings he might have and did what he was supposed to, ignoring how distracting his distraction was even to him. It was an extraordinarily pleasant way of doing the job, Nureyev had to admit, but it was still doing the job. 

And then Juno Steel slipped on a pair of handcuffs. And Nureyev had fallen the rest of the way. 

Peter Nureyev was not one to underestimate people. But he'd underestimated Juno Steel. Peter Nureyev had underestimated both Steel’s intelligence and how much Juno affected him. And really that had been it for Nureyev. That had been the mess that Nureyev was still struggling to untangle himself from. 

Nureyev didn't like leaving things behind him. He never left a trace – that would have been amateur – and he rarely left anything else behind either. Hyperion City seemed to be filled with things Nureyev left behind. A body. An undeserving prisoner. Far too much video footage. A detective who he wanted with him desperately. His heart. And worst of all, his name. 

Hyperion City was a mess that he really should clean up and leave behind, Nureyev knew that. But as he read Valles Vicky’s message; in particular, the name of his ‘new’ contact, he gave a slow smile, too-sharp teeth glinting in the blue light of the screen.

He was a professional, he shouldn't even be tempted. But Juno Steel was someone worth getting into a mess for.

**Author's Note:**

> This whole fic honestly lives up to its name of messy. I've been busy with uni applications and this is my attempt to break through writers block.


End file.
